Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie Review Summary

Actors:Jason Lee, David Cross, Jane Lynch

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Alvin and the Chipmunks

Three singing chipmunks find success in the music industry, but when an evil music executive tries to exploit them, they must find a way back home to their friends. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are three mild-mannered chipmunks who live a carefree life... until one day, their tree is chopped down and taken to the big city: Los Angeles. They meet Dave Seville, a songwriter down on his luck after being rejected by his former best friend, big shot record executive Ian Hawke. They follow him, and Dave stumbles into the room on them singing in perfect harmony. Dave sees dollar signs and makes a deal: he will let them live in his house if they sing the songs that he writes. This deal starts poorly, as the Chipmunks accidentally wreck both his love life and his career. Feeling bad, they try to make things right by getting him in good graces with Ian again. When Ian hears them sing, he too sees dollar signs, signs them to a contract, and re-signs Dave to the label as well. Their songs immediately become a huge smash, and the Chipmunks skyrocket to fame and fortune. Dave gets worried that they're too famous too soon, but Ian thinks that Dave is keeping them from reaching their full potential. Eventually, the Chipmunks ditch Dave and go live with Ian, who starts putting them on a worldwide tour. This takes them everywhere they wanted, but Ian begins taking advantage of them, making them work an absurd number of hours. When their voices begin to strain and they start having fatigue-related meltdowns, only Dave can come and save Alvin and the rest of the gang before it's too late.
Best part of story, including ending:
This movie is not very good. It hints at having some amusing show biz satire, but it mostly just settles for lowest common denominator humor far too often.

Best scene in story:
David Cross really enjoys chewing the scenery as Ian, and every time he's on screen, the movie roars back to life, shutting down again the instant he leaves.

Opinion about the main character:
Alvin, despite being an adorable little creature, is pretty much a jerk with a huge ego who gets what he deserves-- not the best hero for a kid's movie.